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The Business
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2020
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
The Business
The Business
    
Overview

Caladrius Biosciences, Inc. (“we,” “us,” "our," “Caladrius” or the “Company”) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of cellular therapies designed to reverse disease and/or promote the regeneration of damaged tissue. The Company is developing first-in-class therapeutic products that are based on the characteristics of naturally occurring CD34+ cells and their ability to stimulate the growth of new microvasculature. The Company's technology leverages these cells using formulations unique to each medical indication and uses them to enable the body's natural repair mechanisms.

The Company's leadership team has decades of collective biopharmaceutical development experience and world-recognized scientific achievement in the field of cardiovascular disease, among other therapeutic areas. Its goal is to develop and commercialize products that address important unmet medical needs based on a broad and versatile portfolio of candidates. The Company's current product candidates include CLBS119, an emergent CD34+ stem cell therapy responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the potentially permanent damage it inflicts on the lungs of many patients, as well as three other developmental treatments for ischemic diseases based on its CD34+ cell therapy platform: CLBS12, recipient of SAKIGAKE designation and eligible for early conditional approval in Japan for the treatment of critical limb ischemia ("CLI") based on the results of an ongoing clinical trial; CLBS16, the subject of a recently completed positive Phase 2 clinical trial in the U.S. for the treatment of coronary microvascular dysfunction ("CMD"); and CLBS14, a Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy ("RMAT") designated therapy for which the Company has finalized with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the "FDA") a protocol for a Phase 3 confirmatory trial in subjects with no-option refractory disabling angina ("NORDA").

Ischemic Repair (CD34 Cell Technology)

The CD34+ cell was discovered as a result of the deliberate search for a stem cell capable of stimulating the development and/or repair of blood vessels. All tissues in the body maintain their function by replacing cells over time. In addition to the maintenance function, the body must also be capable of building new blood vessels after injury. A CD34+ cell is a stem cell that has the ability to stimulate new blood vessel formation. No other native cell discovered to date has demonstrated this same capability.

The Company’s proprietary CD34+ cell technology has led to the development of therapeutic product candidates designed to address diseases and conditions caused by ischemia. Ischemia occurs when the supply of oxygenated blood to healthy tissue is restricted. Through the administration of CD34+ cells, the Company seeks to promote the development and formation of new microvasculature and thereby increase blood flow to the impacted area. Caladrius believes that a number of conditions caused by underlying ischemic injury can be improved through its CD34+ cell technology, including but not limited to, CLI, CMD, NORDA and COVID-19 induced lung damage.

CLBS119 for Treatment of COVID -19 Induced Lung Damage

COVID-19 appears to damage the vasculature of the lungs and Caladrius believes that repair of that vasculature will prove necessary for patients to achieve a full recovery. Survivors of COVID-19 often remain debilitated even after leaving the hospital due to the damage caused to their lungs, and while many developmental therapies responding to the COVID-19 pandemic are appropriately targeting the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself or the symptoms of the acute phase of the illness, Caladrius is aware of no therapy that has demonstrated the ability to repair COVID-19 induced lung damage. With consistent clinical and pre-clinical evidence that CD34+ cells can repair multiple organs, including models of severe lung inflammation, the Company sought and received FDA authorization for its investigational new drug (“IND”) application for the study of CLBS119, a CD34+ cell therapy for repair of COVID-19 induced lung damage. The planned study will target patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection who, after ventilatory support due to respiratory failure, had otherwise recovered but remained debilitated due to persistent pulmonary damage.

CLBS12 for Treatment of Critical Limb Ischemia

The Company's open-label, registration-eligible study of CLBS12 in Japan for the treatment of critical limb ischemia ("CLI"), a disease with no currently available approved therapy and a higher mortality rate than all cancers except that of lung cancer, has shown strong results to date. The initial responses observed in the subjects who have reached an endpoint in this open label study are consistent with a positive therapeutic effect and safety profile as reported by previously published clinical trials in Japan. Although the study's enrollment, which had been targeted for completion this year, has been slowed by the pandemic's impact in Japan, the Company is encouraged by the patient pre-screening pipeline that has been identified and hopes to conclude the trial enrollment rapidly once the coronavirus abates. While the final outcome of the trial will depend on all data from all subjects, data from the concluded Buerger's Disease cohort and the data to date in the no-option CLI cohort remain very encouraging.

CLBS16 for Treatment of Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction

In 2017, with the assistance of a $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (Award Number R44HL135889), Caladrius initiated its program for CLBS16 for the treatment of coronary microvascular dysfunction ("CMD"), a disease that potentially afflicts annually millions of patients with no current treatment options. That study, titled ESCaPE-CMD, was a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study that enrolled patients at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. In June 2019, the Company announced the completion of enrollment in this study. Results of the first 17 of 20 patients enrolled in this trial who reached 6-month follow-up were presented as a rapid fire oral presentation on November 16, 2019 at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Philadelphia, PA by one of the principal investigators, Dr. Noel Bairey Merz, FACC, FAHA, FESC, the director of the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, CA. That data set showed a positive therapeutic effect with a statistically significant improvement in angina frequency, coronary flow reserve, Canadian Cardiovascular Society Angina Class and Seattle Questionnaire score, as well as an acceptable safety profile. The full data from that study will be presented at the SCAI 2020 Scientific Sessions Virtual Conference on May 14, 2020 and we now expect to initiate the next CMD trial, a Phase 2b study, in the fall of 2020.

CLBS14 for Treatment of No Option Refractory Disabling Angina (NORDA)

The Company acquired the rights to data and regulatory filings for a CD34+ cell therapy program for refractory angina that had been advanced to Phase 3 by a previous sponsor.

Based on the clinical evidence from the completed studies that a single administration of CLBS14 reduces mortality, improves angina and increases exercise capacity in patients with otherwise untreatable angina, this product received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (“RMAT”) designation from the FDA. The Company, working closely with the FDA, has finalized the design of a confirmatory Phase 3 trial which, in combination with previously filed Phase 1, 2 and 3 data, will be considered for the registration of CLBS14. Notably, this study design includes a 6-month primary endpoint and, with the benefit of the RMAT designation, the biologics license application ("BLA"), once submitted, should receive a 6-month review. The Company has substantially completed the preparatory work for initiation of this trial. Caladrius will not, however, commence enrollment of patients until sufficient capital is acquired and dedicated to this program such that the Company has confidence that it can fund the trial uninterrupted through completion.

Additional Out-licensing Opportunities

The Company's broad intellectual property portfolio of cell therapy assets includes notable programs available for out-licensing in order to continue their clinical development. Its current long-term strategy focuses on advancing its therapies through development with the ultimate objective of obtaining market authorizations and entering commercialization, either alone or with partners, to provide treatment options to patients suffering from life-threatening medical conditions. The Company believes that it is well-positioned to realize potentially meaningful value increases within its own proprietary pipeline if the Company is successful in advancing its product candidates to their next significant development milestones.

Coronavirus Considerations

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, was reported to have surfaced in China. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 to be a pandemic, and the world's economies began to experience pronounced effects. While the disruption is currently expected to be temporary, there is uncertainty around the extent and duration, and any future related financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X of the SEC for interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, which are unaudited, include all normal and recurring adjustments considered necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position as of March 31, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the periods presented. The unaudited consolidated financial statements herein should be read together with the historical consolidated financial statements of the Company for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 included in our 2019 Form 10-K. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2020.
    
Use of Estimates
 
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements. Estimates also affect the reported amount of expenses during the reporting period. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and other assumptions believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The Company makes critical estimates and assumptions in determining stock-based awards values. Accordingly, actual results could differ from those estimates and assumptions.
 
Principles of Consolidation
 
The Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Caladrius Biosciences, Inc. and its wholly owned and majority owned subsidiaries and affiliates. All intercompany activities have been eliminated in consolidation.